The Road Ahead
by SwordOfBlackRoses
Summary: The village leader has retired from caravanning, and a Selkie named Alain has decided to take his place. Though, there is much more to her future than just collecting Myrrh...
1. Farewell

Nooooo, I do not own Final Fantasy or anything like that! MWAHAHAH! I am merely writing this cuz I felt like it =P Apparently my works are liked, so I'll continue to write till the cows come home =D I appreciate good reviews, and would like it if none of them are rude or have cuss words. If I'm writing something PG, I expect the reviews to be PG as well…=P Thanks!

Chapter 1

Farewell

            I had always expected my mother to be against me going on the caravan on my own. Collecting Myrrh was a dangerous job nowadays, but someone had to do it. If Miasma didn't exist, we wouldn't have the need of the giant crystals set in towns across the world, leaving no families in tears as they gave up their first born to search for Myrrh. Everyone here in Tipa had always been someone negative of the idea of females going.

            Born into a family of Selkies, it was only normal for the oldest to leave at some point in time, whether it be for a caravan, or just to seek fortune. It was finally time for me to leave for the aforementioned reason. 

            One thing I didn't expect was my little sister, Fa Loo, to be in tears. We had always quarreled with one another, but I knew somewhere inside, deep down, we loved each other like any two sisters should. 

            "Don't leave," she said, sniffling into my mother's skirt. She was a mere six years old. 

            "I'll be back soon," I reassured her quietly, kneeling down and rubbing her head, making her blue hair stand on end.

            I was the type of Selkie that many liked to call "raccoon tail". My pleated blue skirt was brought up at the thigh, granting me easy mobility. My shoes weren't very comfortable – probably because they were new – but mother promised me they would serve as good traveling wear.

            "Now remember, Alain. Do not fight unless you have to," my father instructed me.  "Even if it's a monster's life you're taking…it's a life nevertheless."

            I nodded slowly. "Yes, Daddy."

            My little brother gurgled. He was a newborn, wrapped in a small blanket, cradled in my mother's arms. I smiled, letting his tiny hand stretch around one of my fingers. I kissed the top of his head, then hugged both him and my mother tightly.

            "Don't be gone too long." My mother frowned. "I'll be sure to cook plenty of bannock bread for you, since I know it's your favorite. Send us plenty of seeds and we'll make you a huge garden," she said, her frown changing to a bright smile. 

            My family had always been good friends with another family in the house next to us. They were from the Fields of Fum, and often gave us farming tips.

            I nodded to my father, then turned, waving as I headed for the bridge. "Goodbye everyone! I promise I won't be gone too long!" But inside, my greatest fear was that my promise would be broken.

            The village leader gave me his words of wisdom as I packed up my caravan with the last few belongings I carried. There were some things I thought he could never say enough. "Why back when I was caravanning…" was his favorite phrase to use.

            Finally waving to my small village, I led the large blue beast towards the line that separated the clean air from the miasma. After I passed, I would no longer be part of the village…just me, myself, and I. However, before I could make it over the line…

            "Alain!" shouted a familiar voice.

            I almost twinged. Of all people, how could I have forgotten to say goodbye to Leon? Even though I did not feel the same way about him that he felt for me, he was a very close friend to me.

            "Alain, what are you doing?!" he asked, hurrying up to me. He was carrying something. What looked like a cracked overly-large shell with a small crystal attached to the top.

            I nearly fell over. How could I have forgotten the chalice!? That was the reason I was leaving. I wanted to kick myself over the head, but, realizing not only how difficult it would be, and also how much of an idiot I already looked like, I decided against it. 

            Leon's shoulder-length silver hair was slightly ruffled, pointing out he'd just woken. "So off you go into the Miasma, not only without the chalice, but without saying goodbye to me?!" I knew he was merely joking, but his voice was accusing nonetheless. "I awoke to the noise of a farewell. Was I not invited?"

            I gave him a playfully sorrowful look, taking the chalice thankfully and putting it in the back of the cart. "Oh goodness, I invited you. It's not my fault you slept in," I said, trying to excuse myself from all guilt possible.

            "Sleep in…?" He coughed through laughter. "Sleep in! That's a good one! Maybe, Alain, if you haven't noticed…it's five in the morning."

            I grinned, pulling him into a tight hug. He was a few months younger than I was, but he always made me laugh. "How will you ever forgive me?"

            "Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll follow the caravan and pelt you with molding fish I caught three weeks ago," he joked.

            I drew back, nudging his shoulder, giggling. "Alright, that's enough, idiot. Back to the stream on that boat where you belong. Catch me some biggin's, hmm? I'll be hungry when I get back."

            Suddenly he looked uneasy, an expression he rarely wore. He sort of stood there, staring at his feet.

            I paused from walking to the front of the cart and looked back to him. "…Leon? Something wrong?"

            Leon sighed, running a hand through his hair.

            I waited for his reply.

            "Well…I mean…Alain…you've never been out of the village. None of us have except the village leader whenever he went to collect Myrrh." 

            'I think I know what he's getting at,' I thought, but didn't interrupt. Only gave him a look that told him to continue.

            "Well," He looked up at me, running his hand along the rough surface of the cart as he walked towards the front as well. "I'm gonna miss you. That's all."

            I smiled gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you too. And everyone else. Take care of Fa Loo for me, please. I know she loves you to death. Just watch out…she's got a major crush on yo—"

            Before I could get my last word out, he'd grabbed me around the waist and kissed me. Releasing me quickly, he made sure he didn't make eye contact with me, even though I was trying my hardest to get him to look into my eyes. I wanted to ask what that was for, but I could barely speak as it was.

            He turned away slowly. "…Just…make sure you come back…alright?"

            Watching him walk over the bridge and around the corner, I just blinked. Finally regaining full consciousness, I hopped onto the cart and took the reins of the beast, and led him onward.

**Diary Entry 1:**
    
    **The morning of my departure was here at last. I tried to brace myself for the journey ahead. **
    
    **There was a field along the main road where I decided to camp until sunrise. **
    
    **Tomorrow I set out in search of Myrrh.**
    
    **Okie! End of Chappy 1! And obviously, I added the first Diary Entry of the game. =D I'll be adding them in here and there – so some may be spoilers…soo…yeah…you guys can chill if you don't like it=D hehe! Review and all that good stuff and I'll write another chappy ASAP!**


	2. The Walker's Way

Chapter 2

The Walker's Way

            It was a little strange the way there was a ring of light surrounding me, marking where Miasma was drifting ahead. I soon became accustomed, however, and our caravan traveled in peace. I found interest in watching the billows of Miasma being pushed away from the safe haven of our barrier as we plodded along.

            Suddenly something happened…the light broke. Part of the ring shriveled like a piece of plastic being touched by a flame. Clouds of the poisonous air seeped into the once safe space, like groping hands trying to find someone to strangle next.

            I jumped from my caravan, running to the back and throwing open the flaps, searching for the chalice. I found it, but there was something wrong with it. The crystal placed on high was cracked. It was cracking more, taking on the appearance of an icicle breaking to shards.

            The Miasma hesitated from getting too close to the crystal, but, the tinkle of light rock falling to the ground was heard, and the Miasma approached me. I had nowhere to run…

            I fell to the ground, coughing out in pain as it got inside my lungs, searing my very heart, twisting and turning it, hoping to shred it to pieces. My mind was a blur, I could not think…So soon and I was already…gone?

            I sat up abruptly, nearly flinging the necklace around my neck into the fire. Good thing it wasn't loose. I looked at the sky. It was pitch black, no moon or stars to be seen. I hated the moonless nights. It felt almost as a curse that I had to be out my first night without something to light my way. 

I looked down at my necklace. I'd nearly forgotten about it. I'd had it since about a week ago. Some sort of 'good luck' charm from Leon. Truth be told, all it looked like to me was a full set of fish bones strung through the eye with twine to get my attention and think of him every so often. Well, it worked. I thought about him for a while, and how much I was already beginning to miss my family. I pushed the thoughts to the back of my head and nodded to myself. No time to ponder on lost things.

            The beast of the caravan was lazily sleeping on its back, all fours stuck in the air, stiff. 

            "I wish I could sleep that easily," I murmured, running a hand through my blonde hair. I knew I wouldn't have been able to sleep after my dream, so I stood, walking to the center of the ring of light, where the chalice was resting inside the cart. I smiled and sighed thankfully as I ran a finger down the crystal's smooth and unbroken surface. I knew we were safe…

            After washing up and eating a bit of breakfast, I had a rough time getting my beast to wake. We both got a long drink of water from the stream just down the way, and continued. Though not too long afterward…

            "Hail caravanner!" Someone called. I looked over to see a short man in armor calling to me. Looked somewhat like a band of Lilties. The leader tapped his spear on the ground and the rest of the Lilties hurried and lined up behind him.

            "Hello," I greeted them, pausing to watch more out of amusement more than anything.

            "I'm Sol Racht, leader of this caravan from Alfitaria. That chalice looks mighty heavy." The leader nodded.

            I glanced at the chalice in my hands. "Just one less heavy thing for this poor guy to hold, plus, it makes me feel safe to carry it." I patted the beast with one hand.

            "Here, take this moogle. He should be of help," they said in unison.

            A little ball of fur flying around the leader's head (which I had not noticed before) flew towards me, suddenly swooping down and taking the chalice from me. 

            "Hey! I can carry it for a while longer," I said, grabbing it back, looking at the moogle suspiciously. "Thank you anyway," I said, smiling at the Lilties.

            The moogle blew a few raspberries at me before perching on the top of the cart.

            "Would you like a few lessons in combat while you're at it? I'm Stiltskin and will teach you anything you need to know," piped up another moogle, dressed in yellow fabric, intricate designs placed all over the outfit. 

            "No, thank you. I've got all the skills I'll need." 

            "Even with magicite?" he asked, waddling up to me. 

            "Magicite?" I'd heard of it, but never seen any of it.

            "Ah hah! Come on, off we go, off we go," he said, getting behind me and nudging me forward.

            He taught me the art of magicite, though I ended up burning myself quite a few times by the end. He eventually gave me a cream to cover my burns, and I was feeling a little better by the time I got back to my caravan. 

            "Thank you for the lessons," I said, wondering if I'd even use them later on.

            "No problemo," Stiltskin said, and waddled back to his group of Lilties.

            I nodded them farewell and pulled my beast along to get him back up to speed.

            "So what's for lunch, kupo?" a small squeak came from the cart.

            I jumped and shrieked, almost falling as I looked over my shoulder and a bright fuzzy red ball tickled my nose. 

            "Don't hurt my pompom!!" Mog squeaked angrily, flying into the air.

            "I had lunch before we got to your caravan, so you'll have to wait till dinner," I said irritably, smoothing my hair back.

            "I want food now, kupo!!" he complained.

            I quickly got a piece of hard bread from the cart and stuffed it in his mouth, keeping him quiet. This was going to be a loooong trip…

            Diary Entry 2: 
    
                   Not far from the village, someone called to me. The man introduced himself as Sol Racht, leader of the caravan from Alfitaria. It seems that news of my caravan had already reached them. They showed me much kindness, and a moogle named Stiltzkin gave me a lesson in combat.

A little ways further, we stopped at a river. I refilled a few of my water barrels and sat against a post, falling asleep not long after. 

            "Who could be more stupid?" A thief murmured, grinning. He turned to his moogle, which was dressed in purple and white stripes. "Alright Artimecian, time to get some gil."

            The old man behind them snorted, smacking his lips as he woke. "Muffershumpishnipergil? Gil?" He all of a sudden looked awake and alert.

            "Yes, gil," the younger thief said, rolling his eyes. "Now, Artimecian, you go and distract that dumb moogle who's keeping watch, old man, go and feed that beast sleeping weed, and I'll get the goods," he instructed his two companions.

            The purple-striped moogle immediately dashed towards the cart, but much to his dismay, a rather large pebble (being the size of his paw) blocked his path, and he went flying headfirst into Mog, making him rather noisily. Mog made a noise similar to the squeak of a squeeze toy. 

            "KUPO! KU-KUPOPO!! THIEVES KRUBOPO!!" Mog squealed, pelting into my head, making me slip balance from the post and fall backward, landing on the ground. 

            'My head…' was my first thought, but when I saw the three figures hastily raiding my caravan, I hopped up, doing the first thing that automatically came. I kicked the younger thief square in the nose, sending him flying. The other two thieves backed away slowly, arms full of bread…and my wallet! I reached around under the flap of the cart on the side and brought out the first thing I picked up, which just so happened to be a slab of meat, raw and uncooked in a small plastic bag. I hurled it at the old man, leaving him on the ground. Artimecian just stared at me with wide moogle eyes. My wallet dropped from his mouth, and he waddled away.

            Mog fetched my wallet and safely tucked it away in a corner of the caravan, while I knelt over the younger thief, raising an eyebrow. He was knocked out. The older man was still on his back, though he was blinking and breathing. I wondered why he wasn't getting up. 

            I didn't want to ask the thief if he was alright. He did try to steal from me after all. Mog scared him away for me. He flew over the old man's head, growling and bearing his small, but sharp, moogle teeth.

            The old man stood and took off after Artimecian.

            "…Now what to do with you…" I muttered, prodding the young man lying before me.

            "Can we toss him in the river!?" Mog asked hopefully.   

            I sighed, rolling my eyes. "No. Here, come on, help me drag him over to the post. It's getting late."

            Once we set up camp, I opened my diary and soaked my quill.

**Diary Entry 3:**

**            Well, I haven't found any success in finding Myrrh today, but that's alright. It was filled with more than enough events, including a strange trio trying to empty my cart. I have one of them right now – he's unconscious. I guess I'll find out who he is later…**

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Well, there ya have it! Review please =D I'll be writing my own occasional diary entries obviously…


	3. Note

Hey guys!!!! I'm sooooooooooooooooo sorry about how long it's taken me to write this next chapter! I COMPLETELY forgot to tell ya in the last chappy that I was gonna be moving! Eep! So here I am, all nice and moved (Though we're still moving a little more junk from our old house to here. Should be done by Friday at max) and I'm here to write this note. HOWEVER! I HAVE been writing in this lil' journal type thingy the next chapter…BUT…seeing as to how it includes the thief, and I dunno his name, I've just been leaving little dashes where his name is. If ANYONE knows his name, let me know either by my email addy, or just send a review thingy with it in it, k? Please? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeassssssseeeeeee?! Otherwise I can't submit this next chappy! Unless you guys want me to just give him a random name ^.^ I could do that, but I need to know, so review it, or email it, k? K. 

--Swordofblackroses


	4. No Choice

Thanks sooooooooooooooooooooooo much to uh…Kender? Yeah, well, they never seem to sign on when they review…but! He/She/Person/Living thing/It/Individual supplied me with the thief's name! Yaaaaaaaay!!!! Here's the next chappy!!!

Chapter 3

No choice

            I awoke late in the morning to the sound of things being shoved around. I blinked in the near-noon sun, all things registering in my mind. Though, I gained a sly expression and stood silently, walking around the opposite side of the cart that the young thief was obviously rummaging around in. He was on the left side of the cart, searching under the flap beside the wheel. I walked to the back of the caravan and leaned against it, folding my arms and peering around the corner at him. "You know, I'm not a heavy sleeper."

            He nearly fell over, several loaves of my mother's bannock bread falling from his arms. He turned and dashed away, but before he could reach the end of the safety of my chalice, he tripped over a small rock and sent my belongings flying.

            "As graceful as your moogle," I remarked with a laugh, walking rather quickly up to him and setting a foot down firmly on his reaching hand towards a loaf of bannock. 

            He glared up at me, secretly taking out a dagger from his belt.

            "So who are you?" I looked up and down at his odd garb. The golden straps stretched across his chest and abs reminded me of some footwear I'd seen back at the cobbler's shop, and I had to suppress a giggle to keep my serious demeanor. 

            "It won't matter…" he released his hand from under my foot and stood slowly. "After I kill you!"

            I simply stepped to the side as he lunged at me, his dagger outstretched. "Yes, but until you kill me…" I sighed lazily. "You need to work on your social skills."

            He snarled as he tugged and pulled with no avail at his blade, which had gotten stuck in the wood frame of my caravan.

            Kicking the backs of his knees, I grabbed hold of his wrists and forced him to kneel, holding his arms behind his head, standing on his calves. Try as he may, he could not release himself from my grasp. "Something my father taught me. Now. What were you saying about that name of yours?"

            He wriggled and growled, growled and wriggled. 

            "…If you haven't noticed, you're getting nowhere with that," I informed him smartly.

            He tried to crane his neck backward to look at me, and I peered down at him. He had a peculiar shade of brown eyes. What it reminded me of…almost frightened me. It looked as if he had no soul. As if he were just another living thing walking on this planet, eating and drinking the resources of Gaia until they were gone. Well, anyway, as he was looking up at me, he tried…yes, tried…to spit at me, however, his spittle simply flew into the air and landed back on his face, making him even angrier.

            "Perfectly vertical. Good job." I laughed slightly. "We're getting nowhere, you know."

            "I don't need to tell you anything," he growled, still trying to writhe away.

            "Oh beeeeeastiiie," I called to the sleeping blue lump that pulled my cart. "Brunch snack?"

            The young thief quickly spouted out, "Bal Dat! My name is Bal Dat, curse you!"

            I beamed sarcastically at him. "Oh, well now that we've got THAT straight, how is your nose feeling?" I'd nearly forgotten until he looked up at me again and I had seen a little excess blood just above his lip, where he must have missed when he was cleaning himself off.

            He obviously didn't want to answer my question.

            "Alright, let's try another. What were you doing robbing me?"

            "It's my job!" He finally gave up trying to free himself and just stared at the ground angrily.

            "A thief are you…?"

            "Of the Striped Brigand!" he announced proudly, though his face was still stubborn.

            "Well, in order to repay all this bread you've spilled and ruined, you'll be coming with me to help collect Myrrh." I let him go, backing away easily. I needed all the help I could get, and somehow I knew he wouldn't run.

            "How are you gonna keep me here?" he asked matter-of-factly, not standing quite yet.

            I hesitated a moment before looking for an excuse. I spotted Mog dozing over beside the ashes of the fire and gave Bal Dat a devilish grin. "My moogle's nocturnal," I lied. "He'll keep you here during the night and I'll keep you here during the day."

            Bal Dat gave me a twisted expression. "Moogles aren't nocturnal."

            "That one is," I said, picking Mog up (without much effort, seeing as to how he weighed practically negative two pounds) and shoved him into the cart with ease, his pompom bobbing to the rhythm of his slow breathing. It wasn't a surprise he was still sleeping after all the ruckus. "How else would I sleep comfortably at night, knowing there are monsters and thieves about? I need something to keep watch."

            "Even if he is nocturnal, he's not fierce enough to keep me here…is he?"

            I merely smiled at Bal Dat and let his imagination take part before adding, "I wasn't the only one who scared away your teammates. A word to the wise…" I paused, hopping up into the cart and snapping the reins to start my beast. I smiled back at Bal Dat, waiting for him to come. "…Don't wake Mog halfway through noon."

            Bal Dat quickly hopped up beside me. 

            "Sure you don't want to ride in the cart?" I asked innocently.

            A snort from Mog, almost as if it were qued, made the young thief just shake his head quickly, eyes tuned on the road in front of us.

            "Ohhh," I said disappointedly, as if soothing a child to pet a large dog. "He's really not that bad when he's half unconscious…" I barely mumbled out the latter words.

            I didn't know why Bal Dat didn't take all those opportunities to run…but that was alright. I was a little nervous about being out in the world alone. My entire life I'd been hidden in the shelter of my family's love, and now to be separated from them…I needed someone to help me fight the insanity I was sure was going to tempt me soon.

            "So…how is it you're able to travel through Miasma without a chalice?" I asked, the bright sun shining down on the back of my neck. It was a little after noon, and Mog was still snoozing.

            Bal Dat's lifeless eyes stared at the trail ahead. "Oh. That." He searched through a pocket and took out a small sliver of something beautiful. "My crystal shard. It's not big enough to create a large force field, like yours, but big enough to keep the Miasma from getting to me. My fellow friends have one for themselves as well."

            I stared at it for a moment, thinking. Wouldn't it have to be renewed with Myrrh as well? Well of course, they probably stole some from someone's chalice every so often or something. I turned my eyes back to the path. "Where do you come from?"

            "I…don't know."

            I just looked at him. Often times I've known people to not like to share their past. His expression told me not to. So I didn't. I tilted my head to the side as we reached a worn sign pointing to the right, a trail leading off the main caravanning road. "River Belle Path" was what marked the sign. The path it pointed to, looked as though it had not been used in years. The place where the wheels of caravans and other things used to tread was now covered in long grass. Mine would be the first to pass the old sign in generations…

            "Lunch?" I suggested, hopping from the cart. I frowned. I wasn't even hungry. River Belle Path. It sent a shiver down my spine.

            Bal Dat took extra care as he rummaged through the cart, as far from Mog as possible. As for me, I took out my Diary and wrote in it.
    
            **Diary Entry 4:**
    
    **                               I never thought a thief could be so timid. Bal Dat is. He's man I spoke of in the last entry, and is now journeying with me to find Myrrh. For how long? I don't know. Home seems so far from here…**
    
    Putting away my Diary, quill, and ink, I took out a fresh piece of parchment and an envelope, and began to write to my mother.       
    
    "They say that wicked creature prowl the road along this beautiful river bank, but nobody has ever seen one. I once asked a man why, he simply replied, "Because anyone who happens upon one is promptly eaten!" But it is long since anyone has met such a fate. For nowadays, people take another route, far away from the spooky road. Only we walk the old road now... Travelers in Crystal Caravans."
    
    I sealed the letter with a small bar of wax I warmed over the fire Bal Dat had started while I was scribbling away. Kissing the letter gently, I thought, 'Mother…I'll be alright…'

**Well, there's Bal Dat for ya! At first I'd decided to just make up a name to cover the areas without his name when I didn't know the real one, so if there's a random "Darian" anywhere, that's also Bal Dat, and I just skipped that Darian. Sorry, not only am I too lazy to recheck it, we gotta go work at the other house to get it clean. Final Inspection is tomorrow . ^.^ Hope you guys are alright with it. Review and I'll hop to writing another chappy! Remember, the more reviews the better cuz it puts me in a good mood =D**


	5. Note 2 Forgive me!

Eep! So sorry peoples! I'm really sorry I haven't posted in so long…I'm just…well…all the femmes will know how lazy and chocolate-craving you get towards that time of the month…so I've been stuffing chocolate down my throat (Whoa…I'm surprised I'm not fat yet) and playing video games to no end. I swear I feel so unhealthy right now. Anyway, no inspiration lately *Sniffles* but as soon as I get up to feeling better, I promise I'll write another chappy! Don't forget that reviews always make me happy, so if any of you are just reading my story and not reviewing…currrrse yooooouuuuu…..(Shhh, don't tell that I do that too. *Giggle giggle*)


	6. River Belle Path

Hehe, I'm baaaaaack! I finally thought up somethin' last night, though, when you've eaten a bowl of sugar cereal right before bed and you're staring at the ceiling and tossing and turning for two hours before you finally fall asleep, you tend to have to fill your mind with something…so here it is! =D

Chapter 4

River Belle Path

            Bal Dat still hadn't asked my name, and I was never one to force a subject upon another. I suppose he didn't really care if my name was Alain or 

((Out of the story : Golly gosh I'm tempted to put BillyBobJoeBobFrankBobBubbuhDuh III! Sorry *Sweatdrop*, back to the story!))

Tae Sun. I didn't know his reasons on staying, or his intention while he was traveling with me, but I let him be. 

             He stared down into the fire like it was his salvation, eyes wide and intent, thoughts concealed behind his closed lips. I couldn't help but smile at him. "Hmm…I think I'll wake Mog up to keep watch over you."

            His eyes suddenly jolted up at me. "Wha? Wake that…that thing!?"

            "Don't worry…" I smiled gently at him as I stood and walked towards the cart. "He's only a carnivore."

            Bal Dat scrambled up, red hair frazzling itself in his haste, and grabbed my arm. "Why do you need to have him watch me anyway?"

            "Personal business. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes. Oh. And can I borrow your crystal shard? You've got the chalice to protect you." I tilted my head to the side, taking out a couple of slabs of the uncooked meat, and shoving the bags into his arms. "You can cook these while I'm gone."

            "I'll only give you the shard if you don't wake up that…thing." He glared at Mog's pompom, which was sticking out of the flap of the cart.

            I held out my hand, not responding.

            He just looked uneasily at me as he slowly reached inside his pocket and handed me the crystal piece. 

            I smiled thankfully and tugged on Mog's pompom like a bell rope directly afterward. "WAKE UP, MOG!"

            Mog squealed and jumped into the air, and I could see a large indent where he smacked against the top of the caravan's cover, and thudded back onto the wood. He flew around out of the back and came right up in my face. "DON'T TOUCH MOG'S POMPOM, KUPO!!!!!!!" He snapped his little fangs at me, but I simply grabbed him by his pompom again and threw him in Bal Dat's direction.

            Bal Dat dropped the bags of meat and began running around the fire, Mog just whining about his pompom. I giggled and nodded to Bal Dat, brandishing the shard he'd given me. "I promise I won't be long!" I turned and walked away.

            I backtracked a little ways where the river branched off in three directions, to the Eastern Sea, to River Belle Path, and to the Western Sea of course, right past Tipa's Port. I looked around. No one was watching. There were hardly any wanderers nowadays. I tucked the crystal shard into my blonde hair and stripped of my clothing, ducking down into the water behind the bridge. I sighed with relief, the stress of the journey floating away with the river. After washing myself, the last thing was my hair, and, having gotten used to the chalice, I forgot about the shard and I took out the small braids that started at my ears and met at the back of my head. But before I could dunk, I heard a voice, saying:

            "So THIS is where you snuck off to!" 

            I yelped and looked up, automatically going directly under the bridge for cover. "Curse you, Bal Dat! Why did you follow me!?"

            "Mog fell asleep again, and I was curious." He grinned as he lay down on the bridge and swung his head over on the side, his large eyes peering underneath the bridge. I could feel the warmth and safety of the chalice. Had he brought the whole caravan?

            "Bal Dat! Don't look!" I shouted at him. He was old enough to know it was not polite to watch a person take a bath.

            "I'm not lookin' anywhere beneath your collarbones, Miss. I'm just wondering why my crystal shard is about to fall from your hair."

            I gasped as I looked at my hair draped over my shoulders. Sure enough, the shard was tangled in the locks of my hair, but it could've easily fallen, had Bal Dat not stopped me. 

            "So, ready to go back?" he asked in a hearty tone, swinging himself back over and up onto the bridge. 

            I detangled the shard from my hair and dunked myself quickly, walking towards the shore to get my clothes. "Don't watch."

            "Aye." Bal Dat walked over to the blue beast, patting it as it grazed upon the lush grass near the river. 

            "So in we go…" he muttered, removing his feathered cap as we passed the sign to River Belle Path, as if to pay respect to those who had entered and never returned.

            I nodded. I'd dried my hair near the fire and had eaten once we'd reached our resting spot, but it was finally time to venture into the unknown.   

            Once we'd rumbled down the grassy path and came to the fork, I took a look at the sign. With an arrow pointing to the left, it said, "Scenic route". And arrow to the right stated, "Short cut". Apparently this used to be a touring ground before the Miasma came. "Scenic route" made it sound so much more cheerful. Though, with broken bits and pieces of things here and there, it wasn't so pleasant to the eye anymore.

            Bal Dat walked to the right where the supposed 'short cut' was, but there was a large wooden gate blocking it. He put one eye up to a slit in the wood and glanced around, then downward at the lock. "It only opens from the other side. There's a big piece of wood barring the doors shut."

            "Well, it all leads to the same spot, so once we reach the Myrrh tree, we can just take the short cut back and open the gate. We'll leave the papaopamus here, and get him when we come back. There's no sense in taking that big a load with us," I reasoned, taking the crystal shard and tucking it behind the beast's ear. It would be safe enough.

            "And…is Mog coming?" Bal Dat added.

            "Unless you want to carry the chalice yourself…" Without waiting for a reply, I shouted, "MOG! GET THAT CHALICE AND COME ON! WE'RE LEAVING!"

            Mog kupoed himself right out in front of me, squabbling and complaining like some sort of white fuzzy bird. He plopped the chalice down in front of him and glared at me. "Well, kupo? Let's go!"

            I looked in the cart and sighed, smiling. I picked up my racket for the first time since I'd left the village. I stared at its smooth surface. It had been painted dark blue, forest green lines weaving themselves from the handle to the very top, where it ended with a well-carved spike. My little sister, Fa Loo, had a little Clavat friend. Her friend's older sister liked to carve. We never talked much, but as a 'Going Away' present, she gave me a rather fine racket out of a thick branch of penota wood -- a type of wood almost as strong as iron. When it's soaked, however, it is as soft as cotton. 

            "Are we gonna go or what?" Bal Dat's voice broke my memories.

            I nodded, smiling as I turned. "Let's go."

**Okie! That's not the end of this chapter! See, since I've been putting you guys on hold for so long and I felt really bad, so I just whipped something up this morning. As soon as I finish it (I'm really tired right now…) I'm gonna replace it with the finished version, k? So keep checking this chappy for the rest of it. I'm so sorry, but this is all I have for now. *Falls asleep on the computer desk suddenly***

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**Two weeks later?**

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**Hiya peoples! Okie, once again, it's nearing midnight! However, I've been depressed the whole day and I don't feel like going to bed =P So in effort to distract my sorrows and immense emotional pain (Kinda repetitive, ain't it?) I've decided to continue!! BWAH! Oh, and by the way…*Glares around a little* I only got one or two reviews for this before *Sniffle* is no one reading anymore??? **

**Oh! And to that special reviewer who asked if I was Korean or whateva – Nope! Nice and American! Just the way I like it =P However, I DID have my sis do my hair like Rikku (Final Fantasy 10) today. It's pretty awesome…I've got pictures from it =D Anyway, enough stalling! Here's the end of the chappy!**

I took a few steps forward, but quickly withdrew my foot as a shooting pain ran through it. I gazed downward to see I'd almost stepped out of the ring of the safety of the chalice. I looked back to see Mog, rocking back and forth on his small paws, eyes closed. 

            "MOG!"

            Mog snorted and looked around. He kupoed shortly before taking off into the air, swooping down and catching the chalice handle in his mouth, flapping just behind me.

            Walking a ways down the path with Bal Dat, I heard a snort. The first monster. I gulped – was I ready for this?

            "What's wrong?" Bal Dat asked rather smugly as he saw me pause in my steps. "It's just a simple goblin."

            I shuddered as it came around the corner, yet it still hadn't spotted us. It must've been unnaturally stupid. It's large bat-like ears flapped up and down as it hopped anxiously. It was quite ugly indeed. Though, what was I to expect from a rogue? I doubted I'd meet any halfly decent-looking monsters on my journey.

            "No problem," Bal Dat laughed, taking a tiny dagger from his belt and flinging it at the side of the goblin's head. As if it hadn't noticed, the goblin just sort of stopped moving and fell over.

            I winced. 'Even if it's a monster's life you're taking… it's a life nevertheless.' My father's words rang out in my head. "Is it…dead?" I asked, cautiously approaching the unmoving corpse.

            "Aye." Bal Dat walked up to it and began undoing all its armor. He examined the blade the goblin had been carrying, but seeing it was chipped and rusted, he threw it behind him.

            "What are you doing?"

            "I'm a thief. A good dead body is a looted dead body," he remarked with a smirk. "Ah hah!" He pulled out a small red ball, glowing in the palm of his hand.

            "Magicite? That thing would carry magicite?" I asked in amazement. By the looks of the idiotic creature, you'd think it wouldn't even be able to walk in a straight line, much less wield powerful magic.

            "Well apparently it does, because I found it, didn't I?" Bal Dat pointed out. He tossed it into the air, opened his pocket, and shifted a little so the small red marble plopped inside. He patted it gently, then bent down and retrieved the dagger from its head, thick green something stringing from it like saliva.

            "Is that…"

            "Please don't tell me you've never seen monster blood before," Bal Dat said as though it were common enough to find like grass. 

            "I feel sick…" I muttered, turning away.

            He rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm to keep me from getting away. "Come now. If you're going to be like that, how do you ever expect to beat the big bad head honcho?"

            "…Honcho?"

            "You know, the boss. Keeper of the keys. Guardian of the big booty. Moat of the gold castle. Ya know?"

            "No, I don't know," I muttered, frowning. Goblins were bad enough. I had to fight something larger?

            "Wherever there's treasure, there's gonna be something guarding it. Haven't you read enough tales? There's always a wicked witch or monster in between the prince and princess, or something to that extent."

            "Alright, I get the point. Now I'm not so sure I want to go," I said, gazing longingly at the path we'd just trod down.

            "I'll keep ya safe. Trust me," Bal Dat said confidently, pulling me along.

            "You're afraid of a cottonball of a moogle. What makes me think you can stand up to a huge monster?" I asked skeptically. 

            He chose not to reply to that, and we wound our way towards another large wooden gate. However, this one had a place for a keystone to be inserted. 

            "Where's that key?" I murmured, as both Bal Dat and I searched high and low around the area. 

            "Maybe it washed away in the river," he suggested.

            "Maybe…" I stood slowly, and thudded my head on a branch. "Ow!" I turned. That wasn't a branch I'd hit my head on. It was the hilt of a very large sword. The holder of the sword was also very large…probably three times the size of the last goblin we'd fought. "I don't think Mommy's very happy we killed her baby…"

            The giant goblin shrieked at me, raising its sword. Well, naturally, I ran out of the way, and it ended up only getting its sword lodged into the ground. As it was tugging it out of the ground, I ran around back and slammed my racket against its rear. Bad idea. That only made it angrier. 

            "Hey you big hunk!" Bal Dat shouted from behind it, throwing another one of his daggers at it. It successfully sliced into its arm and got his attention as he stumbled around, shrilly screaming until it fell over, trying to pat around with its large sausage-like fingers to see what was making the pain in its arm, but it kept missing the dagger. I took the opportunity to run forward, and, to my surprise and in my haste, do a forward flip, bringing my racket down hard on its face. There was a deafening crack, but when everything was overwith, the only thing that had broken was the monster's nose.

            "It's just knocked out. We'd better search it and get outta here," the young thief advised, quickly rummaging through with his expert skills and, fortunately, finding the keystone. He dropped it into the pedestal and the door swung open, leaving us to sprint away from the unconscious body as fast as possible.

            "Think it'll follow us?" I asked, splashing cool water on my face from the river.

            "Nah."

            "KUPO!!" 

            I spun around to see Mog struggling to fight something off of him. Looked like a mutated squirrel of sorts. I rushed up and tried to smack the thing off of Mog, and by the end I'd scared whatever it was off, but left Mog with several bruises. "Ack…sorry Mog…"

            "Gotta hate Mus." 

            "Mu?"

            "Mu. It's what just attacked Mog," Bal Dat explained. Suddenly, he stopped, grinning. Spinning in a very slow circle, his eyes widened. "BOOTY!"

            "Wha?" I looked in the same direction as he was looking, spotting a rusty old chest. "Oh. You sound like a pirate," I remarked, but Bal Dat was already over at the chest, trying to pick the lock.

            "Heh heh…" He still faced the chest after taking out whatever was in it. He unrolled a bug-eaten piece of parchment, looking all too hopeful. "What is it? The inheritance of a million gil? Some sort of prize? An award? An antique painting that could sell for billions?" His face fell. "…A…a design for a bronze belt…" He sighed in a depressed manner, tossing it behind him.

            "Hey, hang on!" I grinned, catching it as it fell. "I should hang onto this."

            "If you say so." He rolled his eyes. He looked around. "Hey look. What's in there…" He pointed to an Earthy bridge, crossing the river. Underneath was a cave-like thing, so dark and gloomy. "Let's check it out."

            I gulped. "Myrrh tree, you'd better be close."

            We stepped carefully through the marshy cave, each squish our feet made was sickening. Soon my footwear was soaked, and I couldn't see a think except a small light that gave me hope there was an exit to this horrible place.

            "Kupo! The Myrrh tree, KUPO!" Mog shouted after dropping the chalice outside of the cave. I stepped out, shielding my eyes of the blinding light I wasn't used to after traveling in the pitch black for so long. Sure enough, there was the Myrrh tree, looking as promising as ever and reminding me strongly of my will to get home. 

            "Not so fast!" Bal Dat said, grabbing Mog's pompom before he rushed out of the circle of light from the chalice. He looked towards a beautiful waterfall springing downward from a cliff at least fifty feet in the air. 

            "What about it? Let's get going!" I said, picking up the chalice and hurrying towards the sparkling tree.

            "Nah, nah!" Bal Dat grabbed my hair also, making me nearly fall over. "…Something's watching us."

**Review, review, review, review, review, review, REVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEWWWWWWWW! Sorry, it's now 12:30 (Yes, it took me an hour to write this pathetic last half of the chappy.) and I'm extREMILY tired. So if this last half is completely stupid and hardly any of it makes sense, lemme know through review. =P I've been losing my interesting touch lately cuz of how late I've been tending to write. I need to write it when I'm more…………………..*ZzzzzZzzzz***


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